Villains that should and shouldn’t appear in series 10

Vashta Nerada – The Vashta Nerada have only made one appearance in Doctor Who back in series four and they’d be the perfect enemy to return for Steven Moffat’s swansong. They could easily be written into almost any environment and still have the fear factor they did in “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead”. Moffat also mentioned some lived on Earth in that story so there would be no continuity issues with setting a story featuring them on the planet. Seeing the rabid flesh eaters in a relatable environment should only add to the scary atmosphere they provide within an episode. By the time series 10 comes around it’ll be nine years since they last appeared so there’s no danger of them becoming boring straightaway. Their debut story is one of the best of the modern era so with Moffat still in charge, their comeback should almost guarantee another tense and spooky adventure.

The Time Lords – Ok, so maybe not all of them are villains, but the prospect of a Doctor/Time Lord conflict is mouth watering, especially with Peter Capaldi rebelling against his own people. “Hell Bent” promised a similar story but didn’t deliver, so it would be good to see Moffat try and redeem himself and provide more footage of the Doctor on Gallifrey with his own race. With the Doctor having once again abandoned his own people, lost in the universe, and having stolen another TARDIS, there is already reason for the Time Lords to be angry with him. It could even be a story arc that lasted the whole series or perhaps beyond. Throughout we could see ripples of the Time Lords trying to get to the Doctor and by the finale, the Doctor has to return to Gallifrey to take on his people. It would certainly have a classic series feel as Gallifrey has barely featured in the modern series. Even if it’s not as a story arc, the anticlimax of series 9’s finale means the Time Lords MUST return in series 10.

Cybermen – The Cybermen haven’t had a story with Capaldi where they featured as the main villains. Although they appeared in the series 8 finale, the story was all about Missy. They deserve a story to themselves, perhaps a two parter, something they haven’t had since series 2. Since their upgrade, they appear almost invincible as the were so difficult to defeat in “Nightmare in Silver”. It would be very exciting to see what they could do with an entire cyber fleet invading a planet, going toe to toe with the Doctor. They perhaps haven’t been given the air time and respect they deserve in recent years and a two parter where they take centre stage and upgrade everything in their path would help get that back.

Villains that shouldn’t reappear in series 10:

Sandmen – “Sleep No More” was comfortably the worst episode in series 9 and easily one of the worst in the show’s history. The concept of these creatures created by human sleep dust, used to gather information was so weak. The Sandmen offered next to no threat before the reveal of what they really were and when we eventually found out, they lost all credibility. There isn’t much more to say apart from they were just awful.

Daleks – Although there is a strange ruling in place that means if the Daleks fail to appear in a series of Doctor Who the show loses the rights to them, the famous killing machines definitely need a rest. They could easily feature in a museum for example, similar to the cybermen head in “Dalek”, but not be central to the plot of the story. In recent years, the Daleks have been misused and they certainly haven’t appeared as threatening as they should. We haven’t seen them be the ruthless killers that they are since series 1. Maybe a chance for them to recharge their batteries for a series or two would help them regain their status as the Doctor’s most threatening enemy when they do return. A delay in their comeback would also see Missy miss series 10. Again this would give her character a chance to breath and her return would be more impactful. Also, it would allow Chibnall to carry forward her story and write his own version of how she escaped Skaro.

Silurians – The Silurians made a fairly successful return to Doctor Who in series 5, however there is no real need for them to return again. Vastra added another dimension to a Doctor Who villain, forming a trio with Jenny and Strax to help the Doctor (a trio that deserve their own spin off). But her return in the main show would be unnecessary and almost boring after several appearances in the last few years. If the Silurians were to comeback to the the show then their story would be too similar to the one we saw in “The Zygon Invasion/Inversion” in the last series. Trying to facilitate two species on Earth peacefully would seem like a copy of the story we enjoyed in series nine and if that story does ever happen, then it can’t happen in the near future or it will appear as if the show is running out of ideas.